Opinion + Michael Martin | The Guardianhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/commentisfree+politics/michaelmartin
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Michael Martin plays the fall guy again | Stuart Wheelerhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/feb/24/michael-martin-mps-expenses-scapegoat
The TV drama On Expenses portrayed the former Speaker as the villain. But he didn't create the system MPs abused. They did<p>I don't know if I'm fit to judge, but Brian Cox's portrayal of former Commons Speaker Michael Martin in <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2010/feb/24/on-expenses-how-earth-made-us" title="Guardian: On Expenses and How Earth Made Us">On Expenses</a> seemed a wonderful piece of acting to me. He brought his character fully to life. There was pathos, anger, humour and even sympathy. But that's the thing: it was a character. Or to be more precise, it was a scapegoat.</p><p>For the story the programme tried to tell about the great expenses scandal was the same fiction MPs tried to tell last year: that it was Martin's fault. When he was dethroned, it was a ruse – an attempt to say that something had been done, and now, with a new Speaker in place, still more would be done. Sadly, for all the skill of the actors involved, this was a fiction.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/feb/24/michael-martin-mps-expenses-scapegoat">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinPoliticsMediaTelevisionTelevision & radioFrancis MaudeCommons SpeakerHouse of CommonsMPs' expensesFreedom of informationUK newsWed, 24 Feb 2010 18:35:56 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/feb/24/michael-martin-mps-expenses-scapegoatStuart Wheeler2010-02-24T18:35:56ZPolitical briefing | A contest Gordon Brown dare not lose | Michael Whitehttps://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/11/byelection-glasgow-north-east-willie-bain-michael-martin
<p>Film buffs in the soft south know more than they realise about Glasgow North East. Criminologists know more than they would like to. So do poverty analysts and critics of the former Commons Speaker, Michael Martin, whose enforced resignation triggered the contest in this traditional Labour stronghold.</p><p>Home to Barlinnie, Scotland's largest prison, it remains close to the top of many indices of deprivation, low skills and car ownership, high unemployment and social housing. The constituency also contains the Red Road high-rise flats, a 1960s symbol of renewal soon to be demolished. The heroine of Andrea Arnold's award-winning 2006 thriller, Red Road, worked in a local block.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/11/byelection-glasgow-north-east-willie-bain-michael-martin">Continue reading...</a>Glasgow North East byelectionByelectionsMichael MartinLabourScottish National party (SNP)ScotlandPoliticsAndrea ArnoldFilmWed, 11 Nov 2009 22:53:09 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/11/byelection-glasgow-north-east-willie-bain-michael-martinPhotograph: Danny Lawson/PAScotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, accompanies David Kerr, the SNP candidate in the Glasgow North East byelection on the final day of campaigning. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PAPhotograph: Danny Lawson/PAScotland's first minister, Alex Salmond, accompanies David Kerr, the SNP candidate in the Glasgow North East byelection on the final day of campaigning. Photograph: Danny Lawson/PAMichael White2009-11-11T22:53:09ZOutrage, hoopla, riot act – then everyone move along, please | Marina Hydehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/16/outrage-hoopla-riot-act
Legg's harshness on expenses plays into the establishment's hands: a show of action while the status quo is reinforced<p>What a rare delight it is to see a late bloomer hit sublime form. Not since <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grandma_Moses" title="Grandma Moses">Grandma Moses</a> debuted her first folksy paintings at the tender age of 76 has a septuagenarian unveiled such a people-pleasing performance as <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/2009/oct/13/sir-thomas-legg-note" title="Sir Thomas Legg">Sir Thomas Legg</a>.</p><p>No doubt when Gordon Brown selected Sir Thomas, 74, to conduct <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/mps-expenses" title="an audit of MPs expenses since 2004">an audit of MPs' expenses since 2004</a>, he was hoping for something in the same whitewash brushstrokes as his earlier inquiry into the arms to Sierra Leone affair, which was an exquisite example of the British "nothing-to-see-here" school. Instead, Legg appears to have moved into his blue period, so named after the shade MPs turn the air once they have beheld his work.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/16/outrage-hoopla-riot-act">Continue reading...</a>MPs' expensesElectoral reformDavid CameronGordon BrownJohn BercowMichael MartinPoliticsUK newsJacqui SmithFri, 16 Oct 2009 19:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/oct/16/outrage-hoopla-riot-actMarina Hyde2009-10-16T19:00:00ZThe new speaker: in search of a radical | Editorialhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/22/editorial-vote-new-speaker-commons
<p>No other Speaker has been driven from his job, as Michael Martin was last month, and no other Speaker has been picked by secret ballot, as his successor will be today. Parliament is changing, but not quickly enough. Although 10 diverse candidates are standing, inter-party jealousies have dominated and the contest has been depressing. MPs risk picking a new Speaker who will perpetuate the failings of the old one.</p><p>The role is high-profile and lonely, but comes with fewer powers than most realise. Even an independently minded Speaker can do little about many of the things that are wrong with British politics. He or she has no control over the sort of people parties pick as candidates, or the nature of the laws governments try to pass. A reformist Speaker could not single-handedly improve the voting system any more than a reactionary one could prevent change. The Speaker's influence over what happens in the Lords is limited. Even inside the Commons, many things are determined by the government. Mr Martin has a point when he complains that ministers helped to vote down limited reform of the expenses system last year. He might add that, although he was an enthusiast for efforts to block the release of parliamentary expenses, the initiative came from the Cabinet. It was Harriet Harman, the leader of the house, who tried to exempt the Commons from freedom of information earlier this year, just as the government told the Speaker to go to court a second time to fight a ruling that the documents must be released.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/22/editorial-vote-new-speaker-commons">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinHouse of CommonsPoliticsConstitutional reformMargaret BeckettFreedom of informationMPs' expensesJohn BercowSun, 21 Jun 2009 23:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/22/editorial-vote-new-speaker-commonsEditorial2009-06-21T23:01:00ZThe south never got Michael Martin | Kevin McKennahttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/21/kevin-mckenna-michael-martin-comment
The former Speaker didn't deserve the treatment he received from Westminster's braying pack<p>Gorbals Mick. It betrayed every single fear and prejudice of the feral, aristocratic English underclass. And it was safe to assume that those who gloried in Michael Martin's nickname had never visited this benighted little district that lies just south and a little bit east of the River Clyde.</p><p>We knew that when the children of the southern shires misbehaved, their parents would tell them that their dreams would be haunted by ghouls, hobgoblins and the Gorbals Bogeyman. "Gorbals". It is a word that, when uttered, carries menace and a challenge. In the dark imaginings of the children of the shires, it is a place where the sun does not shine and where birdsong has departed. Where men spend their days working in foundries and their nights in desolate taverns called O'Shaughnessy's or Finbarr's. Babies are abandoned at birth in the Spartan fashion and dogs are eaten. At weekends, people are chibbed. If they are lucky, they may simply be banjoed. The women wear shawls, the burkas of the labouring classes. The old age pension kicks in at 35 and the Styx runs past it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/21/kevin-mckenna-michael-martin-comment">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinMPs' expensesHouse of CommonsPoliticsSat, 20 Jun 2009 23:01:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/21/kevin-mckenna-michael-martin-commentKevin McKenna2009-06-20T23:01:00ZThis is openness in a V-sign, two fingers held up to voters | Julian Gloverhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/18/mps-expenses-speaker-parliament
A parliament that felt remorse would not have allowed its expenses to come out dripping with ink from the censor's pen<p>The time-to-draw-a-line-under-it-all merchants have been crawling around Westminster this week, implicitly ­mocking hopes of reform. The censored ribbons of ­expenses claims dumped on parliament's website yesterday and the motley band of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/jun/18/mps-expenses-commons-speaker-contenders" title="has-beens and eccentrics running for Speaker">has-beens and eccentrics running for Speaker</a> are part of the same thing. The language of the new politics is being rallied to the ­defence of the old.</p><p>Progressive phrases flew at the Speaker candidates' hustings a few days ago. They had to, for form's sake: "modernisation ... openness ... an ambassador for parliament ... the public needs to feel that this is a House which puts their concerns first". MPs sense that whoever is their Speaker must talk the new talk. But most of the people who said these things did not mean them, and the ones who did will not win. A parliament that wanted to move on would not be about to choose between John Bercow and Margaret Beckett in a partisan battle that is all about interparty revenge. And a parliament that felt collective remorse would not have allowed its past expenses to come out dripping with the black electric ink of the censor's pen.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/18/mps-expenses-speaker-parliament">Continue reading...</a>UK newsPoliticsMPs' expensesMichael MartinMargaret BeckettThu, 18 Jun 2009 19:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/jun/18/mps-expenses-speaker-parliamentJulian Glover2009-06-18T19:30:00ZTwo dud contenders for the Speaker's chair | Henry Porterhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/henryporter/2009/jun/17/speaker-race-beckett-bercow
The two leading candidates in the race to be Speaker – John Bercow and Margaret Beckett – are simply not up to the job<p>The choice of Speaker is vital to liberty. Under Michael Martin, who was elected Speaker in 2000, the Commons became the plaything of New Labour and voted for, or ignored, the greatest assault on liberty in over 200 years. Martin has a lot to answer for just as the next Speaker has a heavy responsibility to rein in the executive and restore power to the people's representatives.</p><p>This is not an easy job and nothing in the backgrounds of the two leading contenders <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/john_bercow/buckingham" title="John Bercow">John Bercow</a> and <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/margaret_beckett/derby_south" title="Margaret Beckett">Margaret Beckett</a> – suggests that they are to up it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/henryporter/2009/jun/17/speaker-race-beckett-bercow">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinHouse of CommonsLabourPoliticsUK newsCommons SpeakerJohn BercowWed, 17 Jun 2009 08:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/henryporter/2009/jun/17/speaker-race-beckett-bercowHenry Porter2009-06-17T08:00:00ZWestminster greedy pig fever is tearing up the media rulebook | Mark Lawsonhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/22/expenses-chequebook-journalism
These days of duck landlords and mortgage scams have put a serious strain on brave teachers of journalistic ethics<p>In this examination season, you have to feel sympathy for anyone teaching or studying media ­ethics. The epidemic of greedy pig fever at Westminster has ­challenged three widely held journalistic principles. The first of these is that <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/media/2009/may/18/mps-expenses-how-scoop-came-light" title="">chequebook ­journalism</a> is always reprehensible. Though the Daily Telegraph refuses to admit to being out of pocket for the disc that showed what politicians pocketed, it is known that the data was offered elsewhere with a price tag. And 16 days ago it seemed possible that the presumed expense of the expenses story might let MPs off.</p><p>A solemn principle of higher journalism is that writing a cheque before writing a story devalues the information gained; defence counsel in libel cases often discredit witnesses by pointing out that they sold their evidence. And so parliamentarians and disgruntled journalistic rivals tried to direct attention to the money allegedly going out of the Telegraph rather than the cash spilling into constituencies.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/22/expenses-chequebook-journalism">Continue reading...</a>MPs' expensesMediaMichael MartinUK newsMedia and film studiesEducationCommons SpeakerFri, 22 May 2009 21:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/22/expenses-chequebook-journalismMark Lawson2009-05-22T21:00:01ZPurge the professionals and let party democracy breathe | Seumas Milnehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-mps-expenses-party-democracy
This meltdown creates opportunities as well as dangers. But more than technocratic fixes, we need real political choice<p>What started as a political scandal has tipped over into a full-blown ­crisis of Britain's entire political system. There's no doubt that the Commons Speaker's resignation was long overdue. But if MPs imagine that by scapegoating Michael Martin for their own scams they will appease popular ­revulsion, they are dreaming. The drip-drip revelations of help-yourself entitlement have only entrenched a gulf between the political elite and the public that's been widening for two decades: the product of narrowing political choice, professionalisation of politics, shameless government ­deceit about war and peace, and devastating financial collapse.</p><p>Now both Britain's governing and business classes are discredited. And what the Daily Telegraph, orchestrator of the expenses leaks, yesterday called "<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/mps-expenses/5351956/Speaker-Michael-Martins-downfall-Only-the-start-of-a-very-British-revolution.html" title="">a very British revolution</a>" is going to have to go a good deal further than a change of guard in a largely ceremonial post of fake feudal flummery to steady the horses. Gordon Brown seems at last dimly to perceive what has to be done. For a fortnight he has lagged one step behind David Cameron in response to the exposures: whether over apologies, sanctions on MPs or demands for repayment. On Tuesday he was given a "kicking like he's never had before" by Labour's national executive over his failure to act, as one member put it.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-mps-expenses-party-democracy">Continue reading...</a>Constitutional reformMPs' expensesGordon BrownLabourMichael MartinDavid CameronPoliticsUK newsCommons SpeakerWed, 20 May 2009 20:30:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-mps-expenses-party-democracySeumas Milne2009-05-20T20:30:00ZThis is no time for tribalism | Martin Bellhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/michael-martin-speaker
I offered an alternative to Michael Martin nine years ago. Now MPs must pick a Speaker who will restore the House's reputation<p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/series/politics-and-reform" title="">Our democracy is in crisis</a>. It was already in crisis nine years ago when <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/michaelmartin" title="">Michael Martin</a> was elected as Speaker. Not all MPs recognised it then. They certainly do now.</p><p>On 23 October 2000 I rose in the Commons and proposed the name of <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/richard_shepherd/aldridge-brownhills" title="">Richard Shepherd</a>, MP for Aldridge-Brownhills, in his place. Then, as now, Shepherd was a passionate advocate of civil liberties and of the rights of the free parliament of a free people. I said: "The need is as urgent as it ever was to restore the dignity and reputation of the House. I believe there is a man who, as Speaker, would be eminently well qualified to do the job. That man is the honourable member for Aldridge-Brownhills and I commend his name to the House."</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/michael-martin-speaker">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinMPs' expensesHouse of CommonsPoliticsUK newsCommons SpeakerWed, 20 May 2009 12:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/michael-martin-speakerMartin Bell2009-05-20T12:00:00ZA new politics: New Speaker, new look | Jackie Ashleyhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-speaker
Every aspect of the Speaker's role should change – including quitting as head of the House of Commons Commission<p>If MPs, the press and the public are agreed on one thing, it's that the new Speaker should be a reformer. That means a change in each and every aspect of the Speaker's role, with nothing exempt from a new look.</p><p>It's already clear that the new Speaker will not be in charge of MPs' pay and expenses. Within hours of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/michaelmartin" title="">Michael Martin</a> announcing his decision to quit, the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/19/speaker-michael-martin-resigns1" title="">prime minister made it clear</a> that an independent commission will take over the day to day administration of the House of Commons.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-speaker">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinPoliticsHouse of CommonsHouse of LordsUK newsCommons SpeakerWed, 20 May 2009 08:50:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/parliament-reform-speakerPhotograph: Matt Dunham/AFP/Getty ImagesCommons speaker Michael Martin. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Matt Dunham/AFP/Getty ImagesCommons speaker Michael Martin. Photograph: Matt Dunham/AFP/Getty ImagesJackie Ashley2009-05-20T08:50:20ZSpeaker Martin: a prize scalp for English snobs | George Gallowayhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-martin-snobbery
The exit of this working-class Scot may bring glee, but will do little to effect the required overhaul of the Commons<p>English snobbery can do a morris dance of delight at the political <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/19/speaker-michael-martin-resigns" title="">demise of the Speaker</a>, Michael Martin. The bigots have put the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taig" title="">taigs</a> back in their place. Above all the MPs desperately seeking solace from the evisceration of the expenses scandal hope this will be enough to staunch the haemorrhage in public confidence.</p><p>For a certain class of Englishman every Catholic is a Mick and every working-class Scot is from the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorbals" title="">Gorbals</a>. In fact, Michael Martin – it was always Michael! – has no connection to the Gorbals, but his elevation was a fillip to both: the first manual worker to sit in that ancient seat and the first Catholic since Cromwell to surmount the still considerable prejudice. Thanks to Speaker Martin my grandson Sean enjoyed the first Catholic baptism in the House of Commons Crypt since Cromwell turned it into a stable.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-martin-snobbery">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinMPs' expensesPoliticsReligionGeorge GallowayCommons SpeakerHouse of CommonsWed, 20 May 2009 06:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-martin-snobberyGeorge Galloway2009-05-20T06:00:00ZHouse of Commons: From revolt to reformhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-michael-martins-successor
<p>The last time it happened the man in the chair, Speaker John Trevor, was forced to preside over a four-hour Commons debate which ended with him being found guilty of high crimes and misdemeanours. That was in 1695; there was to be no such drama this time. Michael Martin bowed to the inevitable yesterday, informing the house he would next month relinquish his office for the sake of unity, in a terse three-sentence statement. One day earlier, even as his authority visibly drained, he had continued to signal he would try and cling on. In the hours in between, he had been paid a prime ministerial visit, had heard David Cameron sound intensely relaxed about his unseating and had seen a no-confidence motion pop up on the order paper. A day is a long time in politics.</p><p>Dodgy dealings and absurd expense claims have shattered parliament's reputation, and Speaker Martin had to go because of his role in trying to keep these things under wraps. His departure is a precondition for repairing the damage, but it is no guarantee that the restoration work will even begin. That will happen only if the Commons picks the right successor – and then empowers them to get on with the job of real reform. Gordon Brown yesterday trailed a second statement from the Speaker, which set out detailed cross-party agreements for tightening up on expenses, ahead of Sir Christopher Kelly's report on the allowance system. Significantly, all parties have finally committed to accept that in full. So the house got there in the end, albeit at the cost of a Speaker not to mention untold damage to its reputation. After the disastrous attempt to refashion parliament on YouTube, the prime minister at least gave a competent performance, defending the sensible move to outsource pay and rations. There is a pressing need for this change, but passing new powers to unelected technocrats will never achieve the wider aim of reconnecting parliament with the people, and Mr Brown spoke in mere hints when it came to this democratic agenda. After expectations had been stoked, this felt disappointing, though it may prove no bad thing in the end. It will be far better if impetus for change comes from the house itself, and especially from the new Speaker.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-michael-martins-successor">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinMPs' expensesHouse of CommonsPoliticsUK newsCommons SpeakerTue, 19 May 2009 23:09:41 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/20/speaker-michael-martins-successorEditorial2009-05-19T23:09:41ZPolitical briefing: Is the House of Commons ready for a manager?https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/political-briefing-mps-expenses
<p>Gordon Brown was still struggling to get ahead of the curve last night – for days he has been trailing David Cameron in his response to the expenses scandal.</p><p>In his televised Downing Street press conference he sounded more determined, and more persuasive, than he has previously. He outlined independent external regulation, underpinned by statute, and a tougher line on his own errant MPs than the Tory leader has yet imposed on his.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/political-briefing-mps-expenses">Continue reading...</a>MPs' expensesHouse of CommonsGordon BrownDavid CameronPoliticsMichael MartinCommons SpeakerTue, 19 May 2009 21:27:28 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/political-briefing-mps-expensesMichael White2009-05-19T21:27:28ZThe Speaker exits with revolution in the air. I say, bring it on | Jonathan Freedlandhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/speaker-constitutional-reform-mps-expenses
The great expenses fraud is a symptom of a larger disease. We need a new constitution, with the people as sovereign<p>For years, those of us who yearned for a radical shakeup of our ­constitution were told we could dream on. Save it for the seminar room, the critics said: what people care about are jobs and services, not dry, academic discussions about governance. You may well be right on the merits of the arguments, the ­opponents conceded. But it's not what agitates the punters in the Dog and Duck. That's always going to be your problem, mate: no one cares.</p><p>Well, guess what. They care now.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/speaker-constitutional-reform-mps-expenses">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinUK newsMPs' expensesPoliticsConstitutional reformHouse of CommonsGordon BrownCommons SpeakerTue, 19 May 2009 21:00:01 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/speaker-constitutional-reform-mps-expensesJonathan Freedland2009-05-19T21:00:01ZMartin's resignation is a symbolic first step in the cleansing of parliament | Vernon Bogdanorhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/speaker-martin-resignation
MPs should ask only one question in choosing a new Speaker: which of us is best placed to muck out the Augean stables?<p>The news from Westminster yesterday was without precedent in modern British politics. It is more than 300 years since the British House of Commons ­removed its Speaker – in 1695 <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Trevor_(speaker)" title="">Sir John Trevor</a> was ousted from ­parliament after ­accepting bribes from the City of London. Until recently, indeed, it was considered bad form to criticise the Speaker. In 1983, the two <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDP-Liberal_Alliance" title="">Alliance</a> ­parties – the Liberals and SDP – dissatisfied with the amount of debating time they were given in the Commons, threatened to put down a motion of no confidence in the Speaker, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/news/2007/may/08/guardianobituaries.obituaries" title="">Bernard Weatherill</a>. He said that as soon as this appeared on the ­order paper he would resign. He could not, he insisted, ­continue once he had lost the support of&nbsp;an important segment of the House of&nbsp;Commons.</p><p>But today'sresignation of <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/19/speaker-michael-martin-profile" title="">Speaker ­Martin</a> had become the necessary first symbolic step to cleanse ­parliament. After a week in which the clamour for his departure had grown steadily, he told the Commons today that he would vacate his office on June 21, "in order that unity can be maintained". It had become clear that nothing less would convince the nation that the problem of expenses is being addressed with the seriousness it deserves. It is not only that Martin has ­presided over the ­lax&nbsp;­administration of the Fees Office,&nbsp;which regarded claims for <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/13/mps-expenses-public-reaction" title="">piano&nbsp;tuners, moat cleaning and horse&nbsp;manure </a>as acceptable. He seems,&nbsp;in addition, positively to have resisted all attempts at reform, ­giving active support to the campaign to prevent freedom of information being&nbsp;applied to MPs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/speaker-martin-resignation">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinMPs' expensesPoliticsUK newsCommons SpeakerHouse of CommonsTue, 19 May 2009 19:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/speaker-martin-resignationVernon Bogdanor2009-05-19T19:00:00ZMichael Martin: out of his class | John Kampfnerhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/michaelmartin-houseofcommons
To excuse, even implicitly, Speaker Martin's incompetence by his working-class roots is inverted snobbery of the worst order<p>Class is the last refuge of the political scoundrel. Amid all the column inches about Michael Martin is the ubiquitous reference to the "former sheet metal worker". His <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/19/speaker-michael-martin-profile" title="Guardian: Michael Martin profile: pride before a fall">upbringing in the Gorbals in Glasgow and his difficult early life</a> appear to have induced in his supporters and critics alike a sense of otherworldliness. Normal rules have, until this week <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/19/speaker-michael-martin-to-resign" title="Guardian: Speaker Michael Martin 'to resign today'">when he finally bowed to pressure to quit the post of Speaker</a>, not applied.</p><p>This inverted snobbery says everything one needs to know about the state of our politics. It should matter not a jot where any Speaker comes from in determining his or her suitability for the job. Martin's background should neither have qualified him, nor disqualified him, for what should be a post of dignity and stature.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/michaelmartin-houseofcommons">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinHouse of CommonsPoliticsMPs' expensesUK newsCommons SpeakerTue, 19 May 2009 12:37:49 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/19/michaelmartin-houseofcommonsJohn Kampfner2009-05-19T12:37:49ZThe Speaker: one man and the mire | Editorialhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/18/editorial-michael-martin-speaker-commons
<p>It is important to see, in the larger scheme of things exposed by the Westminster expenses scandal, that the role of the Speaker of the House of Commons remains a second-order issue. Whatever his faults and limitations, Michael Martin is not personally responsible for creating the cornucopia of allowances on which so many MPs have gorged for so long. The MPs themselves – over 70 of whose expenses have now been exposed to detailed public view – bear primary personal responsibility for shaping that. They themselves, not Speaker Martin, made their expenses claims. They and their political parties – Labour and the Conservatives in particular – have connived in the creation and maintenance of a corrupt and indefensible system which they could have reformed at any time, yet never did.</p><p>So it is important not to get the Speaker's ­position out of proportion. Nevertheless, Mr&nbsp;Martin is not irrelevant to what has gone so wrong for parliament. He is implicated in this crisis in two direct ways: first by his ­earlier efforts to get the courts to exempt MPs and their expenses from freedom of information laws; and now, second, by his increasingly inept and reprehensible public handling of the successive phases of the crisis from his position in the Commons chair. He represents parliament to the people – and he has let both of&nbsp;them down.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/18/editorial-michael-martin-speaker-commons">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinHouse of CommonsMPs' expensesPoliticsUK newsCommons SpeakerMon, 18 May 2009 21:55:20 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/18/editorial-michael-martin-speaker-commonsEditorial2009-05-18T21:55:20ZMy choice for the next Speaker | Martin Kettlehttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/18/michael-martin-speaker
If Michael Martin quits he cannot be replaced by another Labour MP. Of all the contenders for the job, I know who'd get my vote<p>If Michael Martin quits as Speaker – and his position grows weaker by the day – who might replace him? In the Sun today, <a href="http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/columnists/kavanagh/article2434196.ece" title="">Trevor Kavanagh says</a> that Frank Field, "the fearless voice of nonpartisan politics", should be the man. It's always wise to treat Kavanagh's views seriously, even if you don't agree with him. He has a good claim to be the most influential political journalist of the past quarter-century. But I think he's whistling in the dark on this one.</p><p><a href="http://www.frankfield.co.uk/" title="">Frank Field</a> is a fascinating and often admirable political figure. He could certainly do the Speaker's job well. He has support from independent minded MPs of all parties – even from a few on his own side. He would be fearless in demanding reform. But I think there are three reasons why Field won't and probably shouldn't get the job.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/18/michael-martin-speaker">Continue reading...</a>Michael MartinMPs' expensesHouse of CommonsDamian GreenLabourConservativesPoliticsUK newsCommons SpeakerMon, 18 May 2009 13:09:30 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/18/michael-martin-speakerMartin Kettle2009-05-18T13:09:30ZSpeaker Martin's end could be just the beginning | Jackie Ashleyhttps://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/17/mps-expenses-speaker-labour-politics
The expenses scandal is an opportunity to end the days of parliament as an elite club and rejuvenate democracy<p>Yes, clearly, Speaker Martin must go. The Commons no-confidence motion, the growing complaints from MPs and now the convention-defying <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/17/nick-clegg-speaker-michael-martin" title="">call for his resignation from the Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg</a>, make his position impossible. Senior Labour figures are also admitting, privately, that his time is up. Yet the Speaker's departure is pointless if it's just a personal thing. His resignation must be an opener, not closure, the first symbolic act of a much more radical cleansing of the Commons.</p><p>You can't blame it all on <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/may/16/profile-michael-martin-speaker-commons" title="">"Gorbals Mick"</a>. This privately kindly, but easily riled and abrasive man is guilty of being a shop steward for a system the public loathes. He has become a visible face of the private club now exposed to the daylight. But it's the club itself that is the real problem.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/17/mps-expenses-speaker-labour-politics">Continue reading...</a>UK newsPoliticsMPs' expensesMichael MartinLabourCommons SpeakerHouse of CommonsSun, 17 May 2009 22:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/may/17/mps-expenses-speaker-labour-politicsJackie Ashley2009-05-17T22:00:00Z